Lighting control system and method

ABSTRACT

Lighting devices are configured to communicate with one another and with external systems. Sensors located at such lighting devices communicate with the external systems and with others of the lighting devices. Lighting is controlled to maintain safety, to drive customer traffic within a retail facility, or to conserve energy. An application programming interface provides a common mechanism for control of various lighting device types.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNumber 61/075,371, filed Jun. 25, 2008 which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to control of electrical lighting, andmore particularly to lighting control particular to lighting deviceswith onboard processors providing programmable control of the devices.

Recent advances in ballast-controlled lighting devices have led toavailability of programmable luminaires. Some of these devices includemicroprocessors for control of the devices, e.g., providing automateddimming capabilities and power management features.

On-board processing capabilities allow local control of certainoperating parameters. To date, such control has been limited totraditional lighting aspects, such as activity sensors to illuminate anarea only when it is occupied, timer mechanisms to disable some or allof the lights in a lighting system during periods when a facility is notoccupied, automatic dusk/dawn control and the like.

Significant energy savings, light pollution reduction, and equipmentlife advantages might be obtained if more sophisticated approaches wereused to controlling lighting systems than is currently employed.

Known disclosures, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,322, have described someefforts to address some of the aforementioned issues, for instancethrough use of a single microprocessor controlling multiple lamps. Theseprior approaches do not take full advantage of local processing powernow available at the luminaires themselves, and a need remains forimproved control methods and systems that make more use of such on-boardlocal processing capability.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, a lighting device includes aplurality of ports. In one embodiment, one of the ports is adapted toconnect with a sensor. In various embodiments, the sensor is a daylightharvesting sensor, an occupancy/motion sensor, or a camera for stillpictures or video. In another embodiment, one of the ports is adapted toconnect with a data device such as a router, switch, or computer. In oneembodiment, the ports are powered from the lighting device. In anotherembodiment, at least one of the ports includes a subsystem providingconversion from one communication protocol to another. In oneembodiment, at least one of the ports is configured for bi-directionalcommunications. In another embodiment, at least one of the ports isconfigured for unidirectional communications. In still anotherembodiment, the lighting device further provides power output adaptedfor peripheral devices.

Also in accordance with the present invention, the lighting device isconfigured to communicate with external systems so as to report localconditions at the lighting device. In one aspect, the local conditionsrelate to the operation of the lighting device itself, such as lightingoutput, operating hours, input voltage variation; in another aspect thelocal conditions relate to the environment of the lighting deviceitself, such as ambient light in the vicinity of the lighting device,speed of traffic in the vicinity of the lighting device; number ofpersons or animals in the service area of the lighting device, localizedweather conditions, air pollution data, ambient noise, and other localconditions. The local conditions are in one embodiment determined usingsensors having limited or no data processing capability by using theprocessing capability within the lighting device itself, while in otherembodiments, sensors with on-board processing communicate with thelighting device.

Still further in accordance with the present invention, the lightingdevice is controlled both locally and remotely via software commands. Inone aspect, software commands are received via one of the ports; inanother aspect, software commands are wirelessly provided from a remotelocation. In one specific application, lighting within a retail facilityis remotely controlled to encourage shoppers to use brighter pathsthrough the store as marketing considerations may dictate, without thedrawbacks of traditional lane-blocking and department-locatingtechniques to maneuver shoppers through various parts of a store. In aneven more specific application, a store drives traffic through onepathway in the morning where products for use in the morning are located(e.g., newspapers, coffee and pastries) and another in the afternoonwhere products for use in the evening are located (e.g., ready-madedinners, snack foods). An artificial intelligence subsystem adapts thelighting level in various areas based on energy efficiencyconsiderations and marketing considerations. Even within an aisle,selective lighting control from the subsystem emphasizes one productshelf area more than another as a shopper moves toward that area, againto provide shoppers with subtle suggestions as to where they shoulddirect their attention.

In a related industrial application, feedback is provided from machinerywhen it is in operation to change control parameters for lighting thatilluminates that area. Thus, when a reduction in energy usage is sought,lighting in areas with idle machinery is reduced more than lighting inareas where machines are operational. Such machinery feedback includesnot only and indication that the machine is on, but also informationsufficient to determine the importance of maintaining a given level oflighting. Similarly, HVAC system control is subject to the status ofequipment that is located in the corresponding area. Computer serverssitting at idle, for example, are more tolerant of reduced cooling fromthe HVAC system than servers that are operating at a significantproportion of capacity.

In another aspect, a lighting system includes a plurality of lightingdevices communicating with one another. In one embodiment, sensors onone lighting device communicate with another lighting device, forexample to indicate that the presence of traffic is expected soon. Inanother embodiment, conventional data processing networking is used toprovide communication among lighting devices. In still a furtherembodiment, a mix of conventional analog lighting control circuitry anddata processing networking provides communication among a plurality oflighting devices. In yet a further aspect, a subset of lighting devicesare grouped into a zone to allow common control and reporting of aplurality of lighting devices. In a specific aspect, connections amonglighting devices are implemented in a daisy-chain manner.

Further in accordance with the present invention, an applicationprogramming interface (API) provides a common programming interface to aplurality of hardware lighting device types. In one embodiment, thesystem is self-configuring via the API so that a user is presented withonly those options that are actually available for a particular type oflighting device. In accordance with the invention, the API includesmodules configured to operate HID, fluorescent, filament and otherlighting devices as well as related systems, including sensors, alarms,Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning, and physical plant accesscontrols.

In a related aspect of the invention, a dynamic demand responsesubsystem operatively connected to the lighting devices and otherrelated systems selectively switches devices to lower power modes(including turning them off) in accordance with programming instructionsbased on environmental factors such as peak grid load exceeding acritical threshold, and energy cost exceeding a predetermined threshold.Feedback from individual devices is provided to determine which devicesare most appropriate to depower. For example, during the morning of avery hot day, lighting devices are depowered rather than HVAC systems,while later in that day as ambient light decreases, more energy isallocated to the lighting devices and the HVAC is depowered asappropriate for energy savings requirements. As another example,lighting in aisles of a retail store that are experiencing relativelyhigh shopper traffic are dimmed less than those with few or no shoppersat any particular time. The lighting and HVAC devices themselves providelocation-specific feedback as to how much their operation is needed atany particular time.

The features and advantages described in the specification are not allinclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantageswill be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of thedrawings, specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted thatthe language used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selectedto delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Overview

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a luminaires

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of a lighting system including aluminaire, a sensor and a remote computer.

FIG. 3 is a simplified system block diagram of a roadway lightingsystem.

FIG. 4. is a simplified system block diagram of a retail facilitylighting system.

FIG. 5 is a simplified system block diagram of an industrial facilitylighting system.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of lighting control processes.

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention forpurposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form a luminaire 100, including aballast 110 and a lamp 140. In a preferred embodiment, lamp 140 is ahigh intensity discharge lamp, such as a mercury vapor lamp, a metalhalide lamp, or a high pressure sodium lamp. In other embodiments, othertypes of lamps for which ballast control is desirable are used for lamp140. Ballast 110 is in a preferred embodiment a programmable ballastincluding a power controller power factor correction (PFC) circuit 120and a ballast control circuit 130. In a preferred embodiment, powercontroller 120 includes a power factor correction circuit for providingelectricity to lamp 140 and a peripheral power supply circuit forproviding power to devices connected to luminaire 100, as describedbelow. Ballast control circuit 130 includes a processor 135 which, in apreferred embodiment, is a programmed digital signal processing devicesuch as a Texas Instruments Series TMS320 device. Luminaire 100 alsoincludes a data device port 150 and a sensor port 160. Data device port160 is configured for connection with a computer, terminal or other datadevice for application as described below. Sensor port 160 is configuredfor connection to environmental and other sensors as described below.Both ports 150 and 160 have data connections to ballast control circuit130 so as to allow programmable control and communications usingprocessor 135, as well as power connections to, in one embodiment,ballast control circuit 130 and in an alternate embodiment, to allow theports 150 and 160 to provide a power source to devices that areconnected thereto, as appropriate for each connected device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system diagram of a lighting system 200 isshown. This diagram includes, for simplicity of description, only majorfunctional components used for the discussion herein; those skilled inthe art will recognize that other subsystems and components, are alsoincluded in accordance with best practices in the field. Luminaire 100operably communicates with a sensor 210 and a remote computer 220.Referring again to FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment sensor 210 isconnected to luminaire 100 via sensor port 160, and remote computer 220is connected to luminaire 100 via data device port 150. Sensor port 160and processor 135 are configured to automatically detect a sensor typethat is connected to sensor port 160 and provide both appropriate powervia power controller 120 and data communications via ballast controlcircuit 130 to allow operation with a variety of sensors. In oneapplication, the sensors are “dumb” units that do not have any on-boardprocessing capabilities of their own (e.g., a simple photodiode-basedlight sensor). In such applications, raw input provided by the sensor isprocessed by processor 135 to determine information used for control oflighting system 200. In another application, the sensors do have theirown on-board processing and they communicate interactively withprocessor 135 for control of lighting system 200. In one embodiment,pins in sensor port 160 are configured so that by dropping certain pinconnections to ground signal level for each type of dumb sensor, a codecan be provided identifying the type of dumb sensor. For instance, inone specific embodiment a connection plug drops pin 10 to ground toindicate a thermistor and pin 11 to ground to indicate a photodetector.

Ports 150 and 160 are both intended for general purpose use with avariety of connected devices. Additional flexibility is achieved by theports being configurable for either unidirectional or bidirectionalcommunications, under any of a number of conventional communicationsprotocols. In one embodiment, each of ports 150, 160 includes UniformSerial Bus (USB), Ethernet, Wi-Fi (802.11) and single-wire busconnections with auto-detect of which is connected at any particulartime.

The connection between luminaire 100 and remote computer 220 is shownwith a cloud next to it to indicate that in one application, remotecomputer 220 is not connected directly to luminaire 100 but insteadcommunicates indirectly with luminaire 100, for instance using a networksuch as the Internet and a client web-based interface. Depending on theapplication, data device port 150 is configured for correspondingconnection types. In an alternate application, ports 150 and 160 areconfigured for wireless communications with sensor 210 and remotecomputer 220. Intermediate devices such as switches and routers are in apreferred embodiment used to facilitate communication with remotecomputer 220.

Specifically, in various embodiments Data Port 150 includes a pluralityof communication topologies and protocols such as Ethernet with TCP/IP,Wi-Fi (802.11), RS-485, and RS-232. Each topology/protocol has itsadvantages and disadvantages. In customer facilities, many of thesetopologies/protocols can be found in legacy equipment. If luminaire 100were configured only with a topology/protocol via Data Port 150 that isnot in use with a particular facility, then the facility would have toundergo costly infrastructure changes to accommodate luminaire 100 orsimply not use luminaire 100's Data Port 150. For instance, if afacility were already configured with RS-485, which is standard withmany industrial devices, but luminaire 100's Data Port 150 supportedonly Ethernet (TCP/IP), then the two networks could be incompatible.

To expand the topologies/protocols of luminaire 100, externaltranslation devices (not shown) bridge multiple networks together. In apreferred environment, Data Port 150 has a base configuration of alow-cost interface such as RS-232. This allows direct connection to a PCin a non-networked environment, which is desirable for configuringluminaire 100 during installation. To expand luminaire 100 to operate ina networked environment, a device bridge is created that translates thenative topology/protocol of the facilities network to RS-232 (orwhatever topology/protocol Data Port 150 is configured to). Forinstance, if the facility network is Ethernet (TCP/IP), the bridgeconsists of a traditional RJ-45 connector to accept the Ethernet cable.The bridge contains circuitry to hold the TCP/IP address and communicatebi-directional with the Ethernet (TCP/IP) network. Internally the bridgeaccepts TCP/IP messages and converts them to ASCII messages that arecompatible with RS-232 (found in Data Port 150). The bridge maintainsthe TCP/IP socket (so that a return message may be sent to the properaddress of the sender) and transmits the converted ASCII message to DataPort 150, which is received by luminaire 100 via Processor 135.Processor 135 then takes action on the received message and may send areturn ASCII message out Data Port 150 (RS-232), which is received bythe bridge. The bridge then converts the ASCII message to TCP/IP andtransmits it out onto the Ethernet network via the retained TCP/IPsocket.

Likewise, if the facility replaces its TCP/IP network with wireless orsome other newer network at some point in the future, the bridge issimply replaced with another bridge that matches the new network, savingthe need to need to replace luminaire 100.

In an alternate embodiment, luminaire 100 with Data Port 150 includes amore advanced topology/protocol than one such as RS-232. This advancedtopology/protocol contains a method to network multiple luminaires (100)such as in a daisy-chain manner where each luminaire accepts individualmessages addressed specifically to it. With this configuration, a singlebridge (as described above) is attached to luminaire topology as well asan external network found in the facility. As described before thebridge translates messages from one network to the other. For example,Data Port 150 is configured with a proprietary daisy-chained messagingsystem with a method to accept an inbound cable and an outbound cable.This is accomplished, for example, by Data Port 150 having two cablejacks or alternatively a coupler splitting device (such as a t-connectorfound in older coaxial Ethernet systems). Luminaire A is configured witha bridge as described earlier that is connected to an external network.Messages received from the external network are translated andtransmitted to Data Port 150 as described above. Luminaire A receivesthe message via Data Port 150 and examines the address included in themessage and if the address matches the internally stored address ofluminaire A, then luminaire A reads the message itself. If the addressdoes not match it transmits the message out Data Port 150 to luminaire Bon the daisy-chained network. Luminaire B performs the same examinationof the message and either reads it or sends it to the next luminaires Ifthe receiving luminaire needs to send a return message, it is sent backup the chain until it reaches luminaire A, which transmits the messageout the bridge to the external network. In some embodiments, a bridge isconfigured as a pass-through to allow messages destined for other nodesto simply be forwarded on along the network. In yet other embodiments,gateway bridges include processors that determine routing for messagesand send them along the appropriate path. For example, a gateway bridgemay be connected to a remote computer via a TCP/IP connection and mayalso be connected to two separate serial rings. In such situation, thegateway is configured to receive data such as commands from the remotecomputer and to send the corresponding message onto the appropriatering. Such gateway bridges are also configurable to serve other networkfunctions as may be appropriate, such as acting as switches, routers andrepeaters.

In an alternate version of the internal daisy-chained network, luminaireA is not connected to a bridge but only to other luminaires as describedabove. Luminaire A determines that it only has a cable connected to itsOUT port, so it configures itself as a master. The remaining luminaireshave cables connected to the IN port as well as their OUT port (exceptfor the last luminaire which is only connected via the IN). Theluminaires that have connections to its IN and OUT ports self-configurethemselves to be repeaters. The master has a sensor such as a motionsensor connected to sensor port 160. When the master detects that nomotion has occurred in a given time duration, it dims to a preset value.Simultaneously, it sends a dimming command via the daisy-chained networkto the first repeater luminaires The repeater accepts the dimmingcommand and dims. The repeater then sends the same command to the nextluminaire in the chain and the process is repeated until the lastluminaire in the chain receives the message. Since the last luminairedoes not have a connection to its OUT port, the command is not sent.This method is useful in zone dimming. It is sometimes desirable to haveone sensor control the dimming of a multitude of light fixtures in anarea, where they all dim and undim in unison. Traditionally, thisrequires extensive wiring of multiple analog control power lines. Thiswiring is expensive and can only be extended to a limited number offixtures due to signal loss because of the resistance of the wireitself. The daisy-chained network above creates an autonomous digitalnetwork that requires only a single cable without the problem of analogsignal loss.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a system block diagram of a roadway lightingsystem 300 is shown. As with FIG. 2, this diagram includes, forsimplicity of description, only major functional components used for thediscussion herein; those skilled in the art will recognize thatadditional subsystems and components are also included as appropriatefor specific applications. System 300 includes two pairs of lightingdevices, luminaire 310 and associated sensor 311, and luminaire 320 andassociated sensor 321. In a preferred embodiment, luminaire 310 is incommunication with luminaire 320. In one application, such communicationis achieved using conventional wireless networking; in another a portsuch described in FIG. 1 (e.g., data device port 150) is used inconnection with conventional TCP/IP network protocols to connectmultiple lighting devices in daisy-chain, hub-and-spoke or otherconventional topologies as may be appropriate for a given application.In one specific roadway-based application, daisy-chain/serial ringconnection is used to minimize wiring requirements. Connection ofmultiple devices in this manner allows a remote computer, e.g., 220, tobe connected to only one of several lighting devices yet allows thatremote computer 220 to control the additional devices that are incommunication with that lighting device.

Furthermore, information pertinent to one lighting device iscommunicated to another. In one application, sensor 311 is a lightsensor configured to detect traffic headed toward the area illuminatedby luminaire 310. In one application, detection of such traffic resultsin luminaire 310 having increased output, as well as provision of aninstruction to luminaire 320 to being increasing its output as well. Inmany applications, advance warning of the need for illumination allowsmore gradual increase of illumination at luminaire 320, withcorresponding increased lamp life and full illumination at the time thata motorist enters the area illuminated by luminaire 320. An additionalbenefit provided by such communication is the avoidance of distractingchanges in illumination that would result if luminaire 320 were onlycontrolled by its own sensor 321. Thus, system 300 provides what appearsto motorists to be constant illumination, even though luminaires 310,320 are only powered up from a resting state in response to proximitydetection by sensors 311, 321.

In related embodiments, sensor 311 is implemented with a traffic speedsensor to determine a minimal safe lighting level. In one aspect, iftraffic at higher speed is detected, luminaires 310, 320 increase lightoutput for safety reasons. In another aspect, sensors measure line inputvoltage at each luminaire; due to utility transformers, wiring lossesand other factors, voltage at each luminaire may vary from nominal mainsvoltage, and by sensing those differences output of each luminaire isadjusted correspondingly for uniform light output. Likewise, directmeasurement of the output from each luminaire by sensor 311 permitsadjusting luminaire output as lamps age, as ambient light differs fromplace to place along the roadway, and the like. In some areas, presenceof animals, whether cattle grazing or moose or deer traversing a roadwaymay call for increased lighting for safety, so sensor 311 includesproximity sensing of animals. Other environmental conditions, such asrain, snow, haze, fog, smog and the like may in some applications alsocall for different lighting, and sensor 311 for these parameters adjustlighting accordingly. In more urban locations, it may be that increasesin ambient noise, whether from vehicle engines, tires, horns orpedestrians, suggest a need for greater lighting for safety and in someapplications these are sensed via sensor 311.

Because luminaires 100 include on-board processing capabilities, in manyapplications sensor 311 is implemented in a cost-effective manner by asimple transducer, such as a photodiode, thermistor or microphone, withthe signal variations therefrom being interpreted by processor 135 asneeded.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a system diagram of a retail facility lightingsystem 400 is shown. As with the prior figures, this diagram includes,for simplicity of description, only major functional components used forthe discussion herein.

Many retail facilities have different areas that, for marketing reasons,the retailer may wish shoppers to visit at different times. For example,a retail location may have an area 411 with products more likely to bepurchased in the morning, such as newspapers, coffee and pastries.Another area 421 may have products more likely to be purchased in theafternoon, such as ready-to-eat dinners. Impulse purchases by customersare enhanced by routing customer traffic through the areas havingproducts that customers are more likely to purchase at any particulartime. One way to encourage customers to take one path through a storerather than another is through control of lighting. In practice, abrighter pathway is generally preferred by customers to one that is moredimly lit. Thus, in the morning system 400 increases the output oflighting devices 410 in the morning sales area relative to the lightingdevices 420. In the afternoon, system 400 increases the output oflighting devices 420 relative to lighting devices 410 to drive moreshopper traffic to the afternoon sales area 421. This simplifieddescription is readily expandable in practice to more complex scenarios.For example, traffic is driven to seasonal areas (Christmas ornaments,Halloween costumes and the like) in the same manner. As an example withstill more detail, sunny weather drives more traffic to beach appareland swim toys, while cold, cloudy weather drives more traffic to snowshovels. Traditionally, retailers have had to physically move fixturesto change traffic flow through stores, or physically move products tomaximize opportunities for impulse buying. System 400 is configured toprogrammably alter lighting schemes within a facility to help directshoppers to particular areas of interest.

In still another application, areas of a store that do not typicallyresult in impulse sales, such as auto parts, are programmably dimmedrelative to other portions of the store except during periods of highexpected traffic where additional lighting is appropriate. As furtherdetailed below, reductions in illumination to respond to peak energycosts, potential blackouts or brownouts, and the like, are alsoselectively accomplished in this manner so as to achieve desired energygoals without impacting the effectiveness of the retail location. Insome applications, luminaires are best controlled on an individual basiswhile in others grouping of individual luminaires into zones providesthe most desirable results.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a system diagram of a facility lighting system500 is shown. As with the prior figures, this diagram includes, forsimplicity of description, only major functional components used for thediscussion herein.

The industrial facility illuminated by system 500 includes a storagearea 510 with luminaires 511-514, a first machine area 520 withluminaires 521-522, and a second machine area 530 with luminaires531-532. Industrial facilities have very different lighting requirementsthan retail facilities. Generally, there is little need to “drive”traffic to one part of the facility or another; the focus instead is insafety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In the example facilityilluminated by system 500 of FIG. 5, there may be only sporadic need forworkers to enter storage area 510 to obtain materials. Therefore, area510 is selectively illuminated based on proximity sensing andillumination is decreased whenever energy cost and availabilityconsiderations dictate a reduction in energy usage. In an alternateapplication, individual luminaires 511, 512, 513, 514 within the area510 are likewise dimmed or turned off except when needed. Modernindustrial facilities sometimes have ambient light sources as well(i.e., daylight “harvesting”) and luminaires 511-514 are thereforeselectively turned off and dimmed, either individually or in a group asdesired, based on available daylight in storage area 510. In addition toa storage area, the example facility of FIG. 5 also has two machineareas 520. Worker safety may dictate bright lighting whenever a machineis being operated, so depending on the type of machine installed in eacharea, system 500 provides appropriate illumination. For example, ifmachine area 520 is a milling machine and machine area 530 is a foampackaging machine, the lighting requirements for area 520 may for safetyconcerns be far more exacting than for area 530. In such circumstance,luminaires 510 and 522 are programmed to operate at full illuminationwhenever either a worker is detected in area 520 or the milling machineis turned on; daylight harvesting is used only to selectively dimluminaires 521 and 522 a modest amount, and these luminaires are neverdisabled for energy-saving reasons. On the other hand, luminaires 531and 532, which illuminate the area of the foam packaging machine, servea far less dangerous area, and accordingly are dimmed or turned off asneeded due to availability of ambient daylight, energy savingsconsiderations and the like.

In order to simplify implementation of such strategies for multipledevices covering multiple areas, in one embodiment data from a sensorcauses an event message, rather than a command message, to be generatedand transmitted to various devices, e.g., luminaires 511-514, 521-522,and 530-531. Each such luminaire is then able to respond in its ownappropriate manner to the event, based on its location and purpose. Forexample, a sensor event indicating that a person is in storage area 510during regular working hours might indicate a need to illuminate all ofthe luminaires 511-514, 521-522, and 530-531 to full power since itmight suggest that the machines are about to be put to use, but the sameevent occurring during non-working hours might not trigger theluminaires 521-522 and 530-531 in working areas 520, 530 because it ismore likely that the presence of the person is not related to themachines about to be put into use. By sending an event message ratherthan a command message, each luminaire can determine based on its ownprogramming whether to turn on, turn off, dim, etc. This greatly reducesthe complexity of command programming and allows for full flexibility ofthe system to achieve any desired manner of operation.

As another example of an application, a common problem with motionsensors for lighting is that people who are sedentary (e.g., thosetyping at a computer) may not move enough for the sensors to think thata space is occupied, with the result being that room lights may turn offwhen the room is in fact occupied. Instead of a conventional motionsensor system that requires the user to wave hands or get up tore-trigger the lights, in one embodiment a luminaire 100 responds notonly to sensor 311, but to other event messages indicating that theilluminated area is indeed occupied. Specifically, examples of otherinput include network activity emanating from the user's computer(interpreted as an indicator that the person is present in the room),and an event indicating that the user's computer has gone into ahibernation mode (interpreted as an indicator that the room may beempty). In some embodiments, fuzzy logic is used to learn whichcombinations of events are most likely to indicate presence or absenceof a person. For instance, if one set of events that is initiallyinterpreted as appropriate to turn off the lights is immediatelyfollowed by motion after the lights are turned off, that set of eventswill, over time, be interpreted as not likely a good indicator that theroom is empty. Thus, for each user the system learns what set of eventsare normal when the room is occupied, and what set of events is morelikely to indicate that there is no one in the room.

Since each of the luminaires 511-514, 521-522 and 531-532 has its ownon-board processor and individually addressable communications port, nowiring changes are needed if the workspace they illuminate isreconfigured; reprogramming is all that is required to changeillumination characteristics as needed. Furthermore, provision of suchon-board processor permits either the luminaires themselves or a remoteprocessor to handle tasks that previously required manual intervention.For example, calibration of light levels in one embodiment isaccomplished by comparing illumination levels at full power with that atdimmed levels (e.g., for light harvesting) by processing images from aconventional security camera that is connected, whether directly orindirectly, to either the corresponding luminaire or a remote computerin communication with that luminaires Likewise, processing of suchimages from a security camera is, in one embodiment, used to detect bothlight levels and movement (e.g., presence of a customer or a worker inthe area serviced by a particular luminary)

In many applications, the sunk costs of legacy lighting systems are toogreat to permit complete changeover to fully programmable luminairessuch as luminaire 100 of FIG. 1. In order to provide some of theadvantages of luminaires 100 while maintaining portions of legacylighting systems, ports 150, 160 are configurable to provide control ofexternal lighting systems as well as integrated lamp 140. In still otherembodiments, the components of luminaire 100 other than the lamp arepackaged as a unit for connection to such legacy systems, to effectivelyprovide the ability to control and communicate as if they wereluminaires 100. Further, remote computer 220 is configured to providenot only instructions to processor-enabled luminaires 100, but inaddition to provide conventional digital and analog control to portionsof legacy lighting systems.

Sensor Port 160 and Data Port 150 in many instances operateindependently of one another. For example, Sensor Port 160 may have amotion sensor attached to it to dim the lights when no one is withinview. Data Port 150 may be connected to a remote PC to collectmaintenance information, such as changes in current draw or light outputthat can be used for predictive maintenance, on the ballast, lamp, orother components, or to remotely turn the lights on/off at the beginningand end of the day. In other instances, by using processor 135, theoperation of the sensor connected to Sensor Port 160 can be monitored bythe remote PC via Data Port 150. This allows for a single purpose sensorto serve in secondary functions. For example, a connected motionsensor's primary function is to dim the lights when people are not inthe area. With the ability to monitor the motion sensor via Data Port150, the motion sensor's operation can be logged to track and report onoccupancy patterns in a given areas. In particular embodiments, thesepatterns are used in a variety of ways such as logging customer trafficpatterns or work studies. Such information is also usable for resourcemanagement purposes, such as determining based on sensor data whichportions of a retail facility should be staffed with more store clerks,based on customer activity. Furthermore, in one embodiment eachluminaire is identified in the system with its corresponding physicallocation, so that maintenance data concerning that luminaire iscorrelated with a physical location. This permits maintenance personnelto quickly locate luminaires requiring maintenance services. In onespecific embodiment, each device has a unique internet protocol address,and those addresses are mapped in a computer system to correspondingphysical locations. In certain applications, integration with otherenvironmental, cultural, legal or other factors is enabled through useof ports 150 and 160 as described above. For instance, there may belegal occupancy control requirements that can be monitored and addressedthrough proximity sensors, cameras, or light beam subsystems connectedto ports 150 and 160. In another applications, climatalogical data isused to modify the system's control of grow lights in a greenhouse.Other applications, including temperature/humidity control, advertising(billboards), architectural lighting, recreational lighting (indoor andoutdoor) and retail “high bay” lighting will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. In one application for low-light situations, aninfrared camera us used for the imaging applications described herein.

Because luminaires 100 are software-controllable, whether autonomouslyor from a remote computer system, dimming capabilities are wide-ranging.In one application, as soon as activity in a facility is detected,luminaires are changed from an “idle” state to a “ready” state that,while still relatively low-power, allows the luminaires to be brought upto full brightness much more quickly than from idle state. From “ready”state, power consumption can be quickly controlled as desired to eitherincrease or decrease light output. In one specific embodiment, ballastcontrol circuit 130 programmably provides differing waveforms toaccomplish the desired dimming profile. In one embodiment the waveformfrequency is altered for dimming; in a second embodiment, waveform shapeis altered; those skilled in the art will appreciate that a combinationof waveform parameters may be altered to achieve effective dimming,depending on the type of lamp that is to be controlled. Since often afacility will be lit by several different types of lamps, the softwarecontrol in some embodiments includes use of a lamp specific lookuptable, transfer curve or similar mechanism to allow linear or otherdesired dimming characteristics for each controlled lamp. In someapplications, dimming is based on more than one parameter; for example,motion sensing may be based on desired power to lamps while daylightharvesting may be based on desired lumens for the illuminated area.Again, software control permits each event (e.g., motion sensor signalor daylight harvest level) to cause the lamp to be set to the desiredoutput, whether such output is considered in terms of power used, lumensproduced, or some other factor. Furthermore, different types of inputsare usable for controlling environmental aspects other than lighting.For example, in a humidity-controlled greenhouse, input from a daylightharvesting sensor suggesting a very cloudy and therefore potentiallyrainy day is usable to reduce the typical amount of misting that will beprovided to plants, since the ambient air is likely to be more humid andless sunlight is likely to reduce normal transpiration and evaporation.

A daylight harvesting sensor's primary typical function is to partiallydim a fixture based on the amount of ambient light in an area. Bymonitoring this operation via Data Port 150, ambient light can be loggedto determine length of day, or determining when outside doors are open(which may be cross referenced with HVAC systems to determineinefficiencies in worker habits). In an alternate embodiment, processor135 logs the information from Sensor Port 160 and stores theinformation, which is the later retrieved by a remote PC via Data Port150.

In still another embodiment, the addition of Sensor Port 160 and DataPort 150, the feedback and logging described above can be incorporatedin other devices besides luminaires, such as HVAC, to provide similarcontrol.

Expanding the feedback and logging described above, in one embodimentthis information is stored in a database and used for energy managementpurposes, such as demand response systems, which supplies flexibilityand dynamic decision making in energy reduction choices to provideminimum disruption for energy consumers. As further described below,feedback mechanisms are placed in facilities to monitor activitiesinstead of simple local information directly related to a specificdevice such as a light fixture.

For instance, many facilities suffer penalty charges when their energyuse crosses a peak demand threshold. These facilities may have metersthat can alert them when their energy usage is approaching thisthreshold, giving them an opportunity to implement immediate changes toavoid crossing this threshold. These changes typically mean reducing theenergy consumption by performing preconfigured actions such asautomatically turning lights off and/or reducing HVAC loads. Thesereductions are constant across the facility.

By monitoring feedback (as described above) where human traffic islogged in a database, when the peak demand threshold is approached, thetraffic can be analyzed versus the current date/time, and intelligentchoices can be made to reduce energy consumption with less impact tohumans. For example, a facility using a conventional method may dim thelights 15% across the facility affecting all workers. In contrast, in apreferred embodiment worker traffic patterns are logged over time and,for example, it may have been determined that one corner of the facilitycontains 80% of the workers for a given time of day. The lights in thiscorner are then only dimmed 5%, whereas other areas that have nearly notraffic are dimmed 20%, and the remaining sections are dimmed 15% toachieve a desired energy reduction.

Taking this example to a larger scale, a utility company may need toreduce the load on a given grid to avoid a brownout. The utilitycontracts with its customers to allow remote operation of their energyload reduction system. Conventionally, the utility sends a signal tocustomers to reduce their loads by 5% across the board and allparticipating consumers must lower their load by 5%. In contrast, in apreferred embodiment the utility monitors human traffic and activitiesand makes intelligent decisions. For instance, Facility A is amanufacturing operation with workers working in the morning hours,whereas Facility B is a grocery store. The utility has monitored andlogged traffic in the facilities and when the grid load must be reducedat 10 a.m., it is found that statistically at that time of day there isheavy human traffic in Facility A (where the workers are working) versuslight traffic in the grocery (facility B). The utility then dims thelights in Facility A only 3%, whereas it dims the lights in Facility B9%. Later in that same day around 4 pm, the load is to be reduced again.This time the logged data statistically shows that the workers have nowall left and Facility A has light traffic, whereas Facility B, thegrocery, has heavy traffic (possibly because the workers from Facility Ahave stopped there on the way home). This time the utility makes thedynamic decision to dim the lights in Facility A 15%, and not dimFacility B at all.

Referring again to FIG. 2, because luminaire 100 is controllable from aremote computer 220, the utility achieves reductions as described aboveby transmitting corresponding dim commands to luminaires such as 100.

The availability of multiple sensors communicating events to multipleluminaires permits highly individualized programming of luminaires andother related devices to fit the needs corresponding to their locations.For example, in a situation in which a luminaire is programmed torespond to both a daylight harvesting sensor and a motion sensor, in oneembodiment the luminaire is programmed to ignore events from thedaylight harvesting signal when the motion sensor indicates that thecorresponding area does not have any people in it (thus resulting in a“dimmed” state). When people are present, an event from the daylightharvester is interpreted differently, setting the maximum illuminationlevel from the luminaire based on available daylight.

Using another example, consider storage area 510 covered by fourluminaires 511-514. In one embodiment, each of these may have a motionsensor associated with it, and detection of motion under either of thetwo left-side luminaires 511 or 512 causes them both to turn on, but notimpact the two right-side luminaires 513, 514. If there is an additionaldaylight harvest sensor in the storage room, all four of the luminairesrespond to events relating to the output of that sensor.

In this manner, sensors are logically capable of being decoupled fromthe luminaires to which they are attached. In some applications, thiscan lead to significant benefits. For instance, in one embodimentdaylight harvesting sensors are connected to each luminaires e.g,511-514. One example of such a daylight harvesting sensor is a videocamera, with certain pixels being chosen as indicating locations inwhich changes in illumination suggest changes in available daylight. Dueto issues such as shadows from ceiling beams that move as the suntraverses the sky, changes in brightness based on people wearing darkclothing or darkly colored equipment being moved through the area, etc.,the output from each sensor may not be reliable at all times. Byaveraging the information provided by multiple such sensors, however,e.g., from different pixel locations from one video camera and bymultiple cameras at each of the luminaires, a far more reliableindication of available daylight is provided. Processing of events fromeach sensor by each luminaire allows such benefit to be achieved easily,and also permits additional processing to produce improved results. Forexample, hysteresis processing is used in one embodiment to preventsmall changes in sensed brightness causing constant adjustment ofbrightness; in another embodiment, damping processing is used to preventa change in brightness of, say, luminaire 511 to be interpreted as achange in available daylight at, say, luminaire 512. Without suchprocessing, open-loop effects such as strobing can occur that result inuneven and distracting lighting effects. Further techniques to preventsuch artifacts, such as luminaire 512 taking into account in itsdaylight harvesting processing an event from luminaire 511 stating thatluminaire 511 has just increased its output, ensures that the overallsystem responds only input information that truly indicates a change inavailable daylight. Thus, knowledge of what one device is doing helpsanother device avoid getting “fooled” about what to do.

To provide another example of this, consider a facility with a largelighting system that produces a great amount of heat. It may beimportant for the HVAC system to know that a drop in sensed temperatureis the result of the lights being turned off rather than the outsidetemperature dropping. By having the luminaires send event messagesstating that they are being turned off, the HVAC system may ignore acorresponding drop in temperature rather than triggering the system toturn on the heat. This is often the sensible approach at the end of aworkday, when the lights go off and lower temperatures may be tolerated.Those skilled in the art will recognize that many different applicationswill allow devices to benefit from events communicated both from sensorsand from other devices, in this manner.

The control of intelligent demand response and energy saving devicespose a problem as they operate on multiple communications protocols andtopologies. Additionally, they have varied commands, capabilities, andaccessories. This makes the creation of communication and operationalcontrol software on a PC a challenge.

Traditionally, control software is designed to control specific hardwarewhose communication methods are known, as well as devices whosecapabilities are known. This forms a device dependant system for thesoftware. A software application must explicitly know the communicationmethod of the device as well as its capabilities and how to operatethese features.

In a preferred embodiment, a software program includes a hardwareabstraction layer (HAL) forming an application programming interface.The HAL is a software library that supports high-level interfaces of allknown demand response devices' capabilities. Control softwareapplications only interface with these interfaces found within the HAL.

The HAL also supports low-level interfaces to control demand responsedevices. These devices are directly interfaced with small libraries thatcontain the software code to communicate with the device via itshardware topology/protocol. These libraries are called device drivers.The device drivers only interface with HAL low-level interfaces.

The devices (via their device drivers) are listed with the HAL asexisting. The control software calls a high-level function in the HAL toobtain the list of available devices. Additionally, the HAL details thetype of device (light, HVAC, etc) and its capabilities. When the controlsoftware wishes to send a command to the device, it does so through astandard high-level interface in the HAL. The HAL then initiatescommunication with the device via a low-level function to the devicedriver. The device driver itself explicitly opens communication with thedevice. Thus, the control software calls a high-level function in theHAL to command a device to do something. The HAL calls an appropriatelow-level function to the device driver which issues commands to theactual device to perform the action.

An advantage of this method is that control software does not have toexplicitly know the details of the device it is controlling. Intraditional control software, the software can only control devices thatit was designed for (device dependant design). With the HAL method,control software written for devices available today can also controldevices that are created after the software. The future device simplysupplies a device driver to the HAL, and the control software can use itas if they were created together. This forms a device independentdesign.

In one embodiment, to further enable control of mixed systems includingprocessor-enabled luminaires and legacy components, an applicationprogram interface software subsystem is provided for remote computer 220to identify a variety of supported lighting devices and provide controlto them under a common user interface. Referring now to FIG. 6, there isa flow diagram of processing for a lighting application programinterface 600.

First, the connected device is identified 610. In a preferredembodiment, devices with on-board processors preferably provide a uniqueidentification code with not only an IP address, but also a deviceidentification code. In one implementation, an identification scheme asused with USB devices is employed to uniquely identify the type of adevice. To identify devices without on-board processors, such as legacylighting systems, operating characteristics are observed at the controlpoint for such devices. In one application, a remote switching unit withits own processor is installed in place of the conventional manualswitch for a lighting circuit. The remote switching unit includes ashunting amperage detection circuit to measure the amperage flowing to alighting circuit over time. Each type and size of lamp exhibitsdifferent surge characteristics as it is energized; the remote switchingunit is configured to have a “load identification mode” in which itreports back to remote computer 220 information from which theidentification of the load can be determined. In one implementation,upon receiving a request for load identification the remote switchingunit energizes the connected device and reports the amperage over timefor the first five seconds of operation; remote computer 220 comparesthis with known characteristics to determine the type (e.g., HID,fluorescent, incandescent) of lamp and wattage. If the characteristic isnot recognized, remote computer 220 assumes the load is of mixed type(i.e., some lamps of one type and some of another) and chooses controlparameters acceptable to any likely connected lamp. If thecharacteristic is recognized, remote computer 220 assigns the remoteswitching unit as corresponding to a particular lamp type and it istreated as a luminaire with on-board processing. In another application,a more simplistic remote switching unit is used that does not have anyon-board processing (e.g., a simple voltage-controlled rectifiercircuit). In this instance, the presence of a control line and theabsence of an identifying code is used to determine that a “dumb” remoteswitch without on-board processing is the control for that connecteddevice. In one embodiment, manual identification of a connected deviceis also provided.

If on-board processing is detected 612, the next stage is to configure624 the remote device with both control and power parameters. Controlparameters are those instructing the device what factors are todetermine its operational state, i.e., full-power, dimming level, andoff. Power parameters are those setting the electrical characteristicsfor each of the operational states. For instance, one type of lamp mayexhibit extended life if the initial arcing use to produce light uponstart up is provided by a particular waveform of electricity, whilemaintaining that illumination is most efficaciously accomplished throughanother waveform.

Next, the device is programmed 624 to operate autonomously. For example,a luminaire 531 with an associated ambient light sensor installed inmachine area 530 of the industrial facility of FIG. 5 is instructed tomaintain a given ambient light level, supplementing daylight with itsown illumination only as needed to maintain that level. In contrast,luminaire 521 in machine area 520 is instructed to maintain fullillumination whenever its proximity sensor determines a person is inthat area or whenever the milling machine in that area is turned on. Inthis example, luminaire 521 communicates with a sensor that determineswhether that milling machine has been turned on.

If check 612 determines that the device does not have associatedprocessing power, then control parameters for the device will not bedetermined at the device itself but rather at remote computer 220.Accordingly, the only parameters to be configured 632 are powerparameters so as to correspond to the type of device (e.g., HID orfluorescent lamp type and specific wattage). Remote computer 220 thenidentifies whether any associated devices will be used to providecontrol for this device. For example, if luminaire 511 includes anon-board processor but luminaires 512-514 do not, luminaire 511 may beused as a “master” to control “slave” units 512-514, without anyprocessing power being required from remote computer 220 other thanfacilitating transmission of on-off commands from the master unit 511 tothe remote switches for slave units 512-514. Remote computer 220 thenprograms 636 the associated control device (in this case, luminaire 511)as appropriate for the operation of units 512-514.

Whether or not the connected device has on-board processing capability,the next step is to configure and present a user interface to provideuser-friendly information relating to the device. In one embodiment,user interface information is provided at multiple levels ofabstraction, from the overall system level down to each connected lampand sensor.

The systems discussed herein are usable for more than simply control oflighting fixtures. Related systems operate based on many of the sameparameters. For instance, heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC) systems share many characteristics with lighting systems, eventhough different parameters may impact their operation. Morespecifically, it may be that large amounts of ambient daylight indicatea reduced need for electrical lighting, but an increased need for HVACoperation. The same sensors used to adjust lighting parameters areusable to control other systems, whether HVAC, alarm, security (accesscontrols) or otherwise. In one embodiment, remote computer 220 isprogrammed to provide control signals to, for instance, HVAC zoneswithin a facility. For example, using the industrial facility of FIG. 5,HVAC zones in storage area 510 and machine areas 520 and 530 areselectively controlled based on presence of personnel, ambientconditions and energy costs. To give one specific example, as anelectric utility provides notice of increasingly severe peak loadconditions, first luminaires 511-514 are dimmed, then cooling forstorage area 510, then cooling for machine areas 520 and 530, thenlighting for machine area 530 is dimmed, and finally lighting units 511,513, 512 and 514 are turned off sequentially in order to minimize peakload conditions. In another example, off-hours movement detection instorage area 510 results in illumination of whichever luminaires 511-514are in closest proximity to the movement, so as to give a warning tounauthorized persons that their presence has been detected and they arebeing tracked. In still another example, ambient light sensorsco-located with luminaires provide highly location specific informationas to where ambient light is sufficient for operational requirements,and based on threshold ambient light values, lamps are selectivelydimmed and turned off in response to peak load conditions.

By including multiple sensors, e.g., 311, 321, each of which cancommunicate not only with luminaires, e.g., 310, 320, but also networkedcomputer systems, a wide variety of data are available for multiplepurposes beyond control of lighting, HVAC and other environmentalsystems. In one embodiment, the data collected by the sensors areprovided onto a networked computer system, which may be either a locallynetworked computer or a system elsewhere in the “cloud” of computingsystems accessible through wide area networks such as the Internet. Suchdata are then available for a wide array of purposes, either directly orthrough knowledge mining facilities. In one application, data collectedby the sensors is pushed into a repository and stored for processing inany manner as may be desired. With the cost of data storage decreasingover time, it becomes reasonable to simply store sensor information foruses that may not initially be apparent. For example, if an intermittentproblem with a lighting system is noticed, historical data from thesensors is usable to determine when the problem began and canpotentially assist in troubleshooting or determining preventativemaintenance schedules. In applications in which the sensors are videocameras and similar optical devices, by storing video data new andunexpected uses for the data can be determined after the fact. Forinstance, in a warehouse application, the warehouse owner may learn thatitems are being stolen, and the stored video can then be used to helpdetermined when such theft occurred and who was responsible for suchtheft.

In the area of predictive maintenance, one embodiment makes multipleuses of stored video data. For example, some fluorescent lamps begin toflicker long before they completely fail. For portions of a video signalthat historically do not change rapidly, processing on pixel data isused in one embodiment to determine that the lamp is flickering.Likewise, the color temperature of the light produced by some lampschanges as the lamp nears the end of its useful life. Analysis ofotherwise static pixels from a camera sensor is used in one embodimentto predict that a lamp is nearing the end of its life due to suchchanges in color temperature. Thermal sensors detecting changes in heatoutput, and current sensors detecting changes in wattage likewise usedin certain embodiments to determine lamp or ballast characteristicssuggesting the need for maintenance. In one specific embodiment, thecurrent from a multiple-tube fluorescent fixture typically drops whenone tube ceases to operate, and in such embodiment the data from acurrent sensor is processed so that such changes in current flag theneed for tube replacement.

By pushing all of this sensed data to remote computer systems, in someembodiments processing of aggregated data provides additional benefits.For example, rated lamp life may not match actual lamp life in manyinstallations, for example due to temperature extremes, humidity, saltyair in coastal installations, and the like. Aggregating lamp lifeinformation through sensed, stored and processed data permits a facilityto better predict its maintenance costs and related resource allocationneeds.

In some installations, the amount of data so collected and processed issignificant. Therefore, data processing elements such as the bridges andgateways discussed herein are in some embodiments implemented with theirown on-board capability for data processing, so as to minimize theamount of data that is to be constantly pushed onto the cloud ofexternal computing devices described above. In one particularembodiment, a gateway includes a conventional blade server that storesraw sensor data and processes it, sending out to the cloud onlyexceptions and summary reports. In a specific application, such agateway with a blade server stores a week's worth of video from allconnected video camera sensors, but only sends such data to the cloudupon a specific request (e.g., because goods in the area undersurveillance have been stolen) or upon an exception being determined(e.g., a change in color temperature at night suggesting that a lamp isnearing end of life).

In order to maximize usability of stored sensor information, in oneembodiment sensors, e.g., 311 and lamps, e.g., 310, are uniquelyidentified and mapped to a facility so that a sensed problem can bequickly rectified. A large warehouse may, for instance, have thousandsof lamps, so knowing where a failing lamp is located is quite important.Even if “dumb” sensors are employed, on-board processing by theluminaire to which they are connected allows the data corresponding tothe sensor to be tagged with such identification. It is found that usingconventional internet protocol (IP) address techniques to identifylocations corresponding to sensed data and individual luminaires is wellsuited to such purposes, and scales very well. In addition, conventionaltechniques already exist to help determine geographic locationscorresponding to IP addresses.

While the example provided in connection with FIG. 5 relates to anindustrial setting and machinery, similar applications arise infacilities having large electronic equipment installations, such asinformation technology centers. The environmental requirements forcomputer servers, for example, when they are idle as opposed tooperating near capacity, are significantly different, and lighting andHVAC requirements in this application are adjustable in one embodimentbased on such operational conditions.

SUMMARY

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a tangible computer readable storage medium or any typeof media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and coupled to acomputer system bus. Furthermore, any computing systems referred to inthe specification may include a single processor or may be architecturesemploying multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a computer data signalembodied in a carrier wave, where the computer data signal includes anyembodiment of a computer program product or other data combinationdescribed herein. The computer data signal is a product that ispresented in a tangible medium or carrier wave and modulated orotherwise encoded in the carrier wave, which is tangible, andtransmitted according to any suitable transmission method.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention.

1. A lighting system, comprising: a first device comprising at least oneof: a luminaire, a fan, an HVAC unit, and an alarm system, the firstdevice having a control circuit with a processor, a first portoperatively coupled to the processor and adapted to providecommunication between the processor and a peripheral device, theperipheral device comprising at least one of: a data device, anoccupancy sensor, a motion sensor, and a camera; a second devicecomprising at least one of: a luminaire, a fan, an HVAC unit, and analarm system; and a remote computer system, operatively coupled to thefirst device and the second device, the remote computer system adaptedto provide commands enabling autonomous operation of the first deviceresponsive to detection of the processor, the remote computer systemfurther adapted to provide signals controlling operation of the seconddevice responsive to characterization of the second device as not havingon-board processing configured for direct communication with the remotecomputer system.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control circuitis configured to control output from the first device responsive tooperation of the peripheral device.
 3. A lighting system, comprising: alighting device having control circuit with a processor; a sensoroperatively coupled to the processor, the sensor comprising at least oneof: a light sensor, a fixture voltage sensor, an operating hour timer, atraffic sensor, an occupancy sensor, a motion sensor, a weather sensor,a pollution sensor, an audio sensor, and a local conditions sensor; anda remote device operatively coupled to the processor, the remote deviceconfigured to operatively communicate with the processor and take atleast one of the following actions in response to operation of thesensor: communicate with the lighting device, communicate with a thirddevice, store information related to operation of the sensor, anddisplay information related to operation of the sensor.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the remote device is a computer system adapted toprovide at least one of: event signals; control commands for thelighting device; control commands for at least one additional lightingdevice; commands to process information from the sensor.
 5. A lightingsystem, comprising: a first lighting device having a control circuitwith a processor, the first lighting device having a first light outputcovering a first service area; a second lighting device operativelycoupled to the first lighting device, the second lighting device havinga second light output covering a second service area; a remote computeroperatively coupled with the processor and configured to provideprogramming instructions to the processor for autonomous control of thefirst lighting device; and a sensor operatively coupled to theprocessor, the sensor comprising at least one of: an ambient lightsensor, a traffic sensor, an occupancy sensor, a weather sensor, a noisesensor, and a local conditions sensor, wherein the processor isconfigured to control, responsive to the operation of the sensor andtime of day, the first light output relative to the second light output.6. A lighting system, comprising: a first lighting device having ahaving a first light output covering a first service area; a secondlighting device having a second light output covering a second servicearea; and a remote computer operatively coupled with the first lightingdevice and the second lighting device, the remote computer selectivelycontrolling the first light output relative to the second light outputresponsive to a set of control conditions, the control conditionsincluding at least one of: desired paths for customer movement throughthe first service area and the second service area based on time of day,desired emphasis of the first service area for customer attention basedon marketing considerations, desired safety levels in the first servicearea based on conditions sensed in the first service area, desiredsafety levels in the first service area based on conditions sensed inthe second service area, lack of traffic in the first service area,differences in ambient light levels between the first service area andthe second service area, parameters relating to energy efficiency,parameters relating to energy cost; parameters relating to energyavailability, danger levels in the first service area and the secondservice area, presence of operating machinery in the first service area,service levels of operating equipment in the first service area.
 7. Thelighting system of claim 6, further comprising a third deviceoperatively coupled to the remote computer, the third device includingat least one of an HVAC system, an alarm system, and an access controlsystem, wherein the remote computer is configured to control the thirddevice responsive to the set of control conditions.
 8. The lightingsystem of claim 6, wherein the remote computer includes a commonprogramming interface, the common programming interface comprising aplurality of modules for configuration of the system with a plurality ofdevice types, the common programming interface further including a userinterface providing operational device control over a set of parametersdetermined by the configuration.
 9. The lighting system of claim 8,wherein the common programming interface includes a hardware abstractionlayer to enable communication with the plurality of device types andwith device drivers for select ones of the plurality of device types.10. A lighting system, comprising: a first device having a having afirst sensor and a controllable first output covering a first servicearea, the first device including at least one of: a luminaire and anHVAC system; a second device having a second sensor and a controllablesecond output covering a second service area, the second deviceincluding at least one of: a luminaire and an HVAC system; and a remotecomputer operatively coupled with the first device and the seconddevice, the remote computer selectively controlling the first output andthe second output responsive to operation of the first sensor and thesecond sensor and responsive to at least one of: predicted weatherconditions, actual weather conditions, predicted activity in the firstservice area, predicted activity in the second service area, predictedenergy cost, actual energy cost; predicted peak grid load, actual peakgrid load, time of day, operational status of equipment in the firstservice area, and operational status of equipment in the second servicearea.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the remote computer isconfigured to maintain a log of operation of the first sensor todetermine at least one of: traffic patterns, activity levels, length ofday, presence of open doors, and personnel habits.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the remote computer is configured to selectivelycontrol, responsive to the log, at least one of an HVAC system, anaccess control system, an alarm, and an energy management system.
 13. Alighting control device, comprising: a control circuit, communicatingwith and controlled by a processor, and configured to programmablyprovide power to a lamp; a data device port operatively connected to theprocessor and the control circuit, the data device port being configuredfor connection with at least one of a computer, a terminal, and a datadevice and to provide communications therewith; and a sensor portoperatively connected to the processor and the control circuit, thesensor port being configured for connection with at least one of a lightsensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a camera, an occupancysensor, a vehicle speed sensor, an audio sensor, a weather sensor, andan alarm sensor, and to provide communications therewith.
 14. The deviceof claim 13, wherein the data port includes a plurality of connectiontypes, including a plural subset of: an Ethernet TCP/IP connection, aUSB connection, a single-wire bus connection, a wireless connection, anRS-485 connection, an RS-232 connection, a serial connection, a devicebridge, a daisy-chain connection, a repeater connection, an analogconnection, a unidirectional IN connection, a unidirectional OUTconnection, a bidirectional connection, and a zone control connection.15. The device of claim 13, wherein the data port is configured forconnection with a second device such that the processor controls thesecond device.
 16. The device of claim 13, wherein at least one of thedata port and the sensor port includes a plurality of connection types,including a plural subset of: an Ethernet TCP/IP connection, a USBconnection, a single-wire bus connection, a wireless connection, aserial connection, a serial ring connection, an analog connection, aunidirectional connection, and a bidirectional connection.
 17. Thedevice of claim 13, wherein at least one of the sensor port and the dataport is adapted for automatic detection and configuration.
 18. Thedevice of claim 13, wherein at least one of the sensor port and the dataport is adapted for connection to a camera, and wherein the processor isadapted to calibrate a lighting level responsive to lighting conditionssensed by the camera.
 19. A system, comprising: a first subsystemincluding a first load, a first processor and a first sensor; a secondsubsystem including a second load; the second subsystem adapted forcommunication with the first subsystem, the second load being responsiveto environmental conditions sensed by the first sensor and correspondingoperation of the first processor; and a remote computer subsystemoperatively connected to the first subsystem and adapted to store datacorresponding to the environmental conditions.
 20. The system of claim19, wherein a serial ring network provides communications between thefirst subsystem and the second subsystem.
 21. The system of claim 19,wherein the first subsystem is configured to transmit to the secondsubsystem an event signal responsive to operation of the first sensor,and wherein the second subsystem is configured to, when in a firststate, take a first action responsive to the event signal and, when in asecond state, take a second action responsive to the event signal. 22.The system of claim 19, further comprising a notification subsystemoperatively connected to the remote computer subsystem and adapted toissue a maintenance message in response to the data indicating at leastone of: a change in lamp characteristics indicating a potential for lampfailure, flicker in lamp output, change in color temperature in lampoutput, change in lumens in lamp output, and change in lamp current. 23.The system of claim 19, further comprising a second remote computersubsystem operatively connected to the first subsystem and adapted tocorrelate a logical address of the first subsystem with a physicallocation of the first subsystem.
 24. The system of claim 19, furthercomprising a gateway operatively connected to the first subsystem andthe remote computer, the first subsystem being adapted to routecommunications from the gateway to the second subsystem.
 25. The systemof claim 19, wherein the first load is a legacy load subsystem.
 26. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the environmental conditions include atleast one of: length of day, input voltage; ambient light, andoccupancy.
 27. The system of claim 19, wherein a processor determinesfrom an output of the first sensor a plural subset of: ambient light,output of a lighting device, occupancy, predicted maintenance costs;resource allocation requirements, and security breach.
 28. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the second subsystem includes a second sensor, andwherein the environmental conditions are determined using outputs fromthe first sensor and the second sensor.
 29. The system of claim 19,wherein the first sensor is a camera providing output comprising amatrix of pixels, and wherein the environmental conditions aredetermined based on levels of a subset of said pixels.
 30. The system ofclaim 19, wherein a processor determines the environmental conditions byapplication of hysteresis processing to output from the first sensor.31. The system of claim 19, wherein the first sensor further comprises aconnector, the connector being configured such that the first subsystemidentifies a type for the sensor based on characteristics of theconnector.
 32. The system of claim 19, wherein the first subsystemincludes a network IN connector, the first subsystem being adapted toself configure as a master responsive to absence of connection at the INconnector and as a slave responsive to presence of connection at the INconnector.
 33. A system for controlling an electrical load, comprising:a first subsystem including an occupancy sensor; a second subsystemadapted to determine an activity level of equipment located in an areaserved by the electrical load; and a processor operatively coupled tothe first subsystem and the second subsystem and adapted to control theload responsive to operation of the first subsystem and the secondsubsystem.
 34. A system for controlling an electrical load, comprising:a first subsystem including an occupancy sensor; a second subsystemadapted to determine an ambient light level of an area served by theelectrical load; and a processor operatively coupled to the firstsubsystem and the second subsystem and adapted to control the loadresponsive to operation of the first subsystem and the second subsystem35. The system of claim 34, wherein each of the first and secondsubsystems includes a video camera and wherein the first ambient lightlevel and the second ambient light level are determined from brightnesslevels of select video camera pixels.
 36. The system of claim 34,wherein the first and second subsystems produce pixels indicative ofbrightness and the processor determines by analysis of select ones ofthe pixels whether changes in brightness are indicative of at least oneof shadows, movement of objects of various colors within the area,changes in lighting produced by a lamp, and available ambient light. 37.A lighting system, comprising: a first subsystem adapted to control afirst lamp; a second subsystem adapted to control a second lamp; and aprocessor operatively coupled to the first subsystem and the secondsubsystem and adapted to control at least one of the first lamp and thesecond lamp in accordance with lamp characteristics to achieve at leastone of simultaneous dimming, uniform dimming and linear dimming.
 38. Alighting system, comprising: a first subsystem adapted to identify alamp based on the operating characteristics of the lamp; a secondsubsystem adapted to control the lamp; and a processor operativelycoupled to the first subsystem and the second subsystem and adapted todirect operation of the second subsystem based on identification of thelamp provided by the first subsystem.
 39. A lighting system, comprising:a first subsystem adapted to control a lamp; a visual subsystemincluding a camera and configured to provide as output a plurality ofpixels corresponding to an area; and a processor operatively coupled tothe first subsystem and the visual subsystem and adapted to generate,responsive to levels of the pixels, output messages relating to a pluralsubset of: dimming lighting for the area, changing a state of the lamp,indicating that the area is over an allowable capacity, indicating thatan energy requirement for environmental control of the area may bealtered, and providing a security status.
 40. A lighting system,comprising: a first subsystem adapted to determine whether a lamp is ina fired state; a second subsystem adapted to control the lamp byselective provision of one of a plurality of waveforms to the lamp; anda processor operatively coupled to the first subsystem and the secondsubsystem and adapted to direct operation of the second subsystem basedon whether the lamp is in a fired state as indicated by the firstsubsystem.
 41. A system, comprising: a first subsystem including a firstload, a first processor and a first sensor, the first subsystemcontrolling the first load and being configured to generate an eventsignal responsive to operation of the first sensor; and a secondsubsystem including a second load, the second subsystem configured toreceive the event signal and, when in a first state, take a first actionon the second load responsive to the event signal and, when in a secondstate, take a second action on the second load responsive to the eventsignal.
 42. The system of claim 41, wherein a serial ring networkprovides communications between the first subsystem and the secondsubsystem.
 43. The system of claim 41, wherein the environmentalconditions include at least one of: length of day, input voltage;ambient light, and occupancy.
 44. The system of claim 41, wherein thesecond subsystem includes a second processor and a second sensor and isconfigured to generate a second event signal responsive to operation ofthe second sensor, the first subsystem configured to receive the secondevent signal and take an action on the first load responsive to thesecond event signal and to a first subsystem state.
 45. The system ofclaim 41, wherein the second subsystem includes a second sensor, andwherein the environmental conditions are determined using outputs fromthe first sensor and the second sensor.
 46. The system of claim 41,wherein the first sensor is a camera providing output comprising amatrix of pixels, and wherein the environmental conditions aredetermined based on levels of a subset of said pixels.
 47. The system ofclaim 41, wherein a processor determines the environmental conditions byapplication of hysteresis processing to output from the first sensor.48. The system of claim 41, wherein the first sensor further comprises aconnector, the connector being configured such that the first subsystemidentifies a type for the sensor based on characteristics of theconnector.
 49. The system of claim 41, wherein the first subsystemincludes a network IN connector, the first subsystem being adapted toself configure as a master responsive to absence of connection at the INconnector and as a slave responsive to presence of connection at the INconnector.